


Little things

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Self-Comfort, Stress Relief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 22:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18974038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Magnus notices. He pays so close attention to Alec that it would be a miracle to miss something, especially something Alec does so frequently.Whenever Alec is feeling the pressure a bit too intensely, his hands find their way to his hair.





	Little things

**Author's Note:**

> Dealing with stress by projecting into a fictional character? Who? Me? Pffft.

Magnus notices. He pays so close attention to Alec that it would be a miracle to miss something, especially something Alec does so frequently.

Magnus isn’t sure if Alec has noticed it himself.

Whenever Alec is overwhelmed, his hand flies to the back of his neck, the fingers lightly brushing the strands at the base of his skull.

When he’s stressed, he leans his head down, both of his hands going to the back of his head and weaving into the dark hair. The hands leave behind a mess of strands that go to every other direction, except to the one they are supposed to. Like a testament of how scrambled his thoughts are in his head. 

Frustrated, and he grips the hair hard enough for Magnus to feel it in his own scalp.

Magnus doesn't know if Alec notices it himself, but he’s sure his siblings have made the same observation as Magnus has.

Izzy is over a head shorter than her brother but whenever Alec leans down to hug her, she makes sure to bring one of her hands to the back of his head, holding it gentler than is needed. Her small hand pets the hair softly, and Alec relaxes into the hug even more.

Magnus starts doing it too.

He notices that the best way to make Alec calm down is to get him to settle on the couch, his head on Magnus’ lap while Magnus cards his fingers through the messy mop of hair. Alec’s hair is longer on the top of his head, and Magnus can twirl the wavy strands around his finger easily. He finds out that the repetitive motion paired with seeing and physically feeling Alec relax is comforting to him too.

Sometimes a more firmer touch is needed, a grounding sensation when there are too many things in Alec’s life going too fast. Sometimes he needs a gentle touch, something soft to remind him that there are room for things like that in their fast lives and occasionally dark world.

Magnus has noticed all these things, but it takes longer than it should for him to realise that Alec has noticed his things as well. And like the great boyfriend that he is, he’s been using his knowledge to his advantage, in a similar way that Magnus has been using his.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr!!](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com/)


End file.
